Shi Xiu gazed silently at Nara Luling standing in the doorway and sighed inwardly. As they say, fortune and misfortune cannot be avoided. What was coming had come at last.
When Nara Luling saw Shi Xiu, she had started to step closer, but the moment her gaze fell on Haku beside him, she froze as if struck by a paralysis spell.
"Lord Shi Xiu, you... you're finally back?" When she recovered, Nara Luling hurried to greet Shi Xiu respectfully.
Yet she couldn't take her eyes off Haku.
Shi Xiu nodded impassively. "Yes. Did you need something?"
His voice was as calm as a still lake on an autumn day, without the slightest ripple.
At Shi Xiu's question, Nara Luling opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but swallowed her words before they could come out.
For a moment, a suffocating silence settled between them. They simply stared at each other, neither willing to be the first to break it.
Haku, standing beside Shi Xiu, studied Nara Luling curiously, then looked up at Shi Xiu.
He could clearly sense the tense, delicate atmosphere hanging in the air.
Just then, Obito returned from shopping. He spotted the three people by the entrance from a distance, quickened his pace, and asked in bewilderment,
"Lord Shi Xiu, why are you all standing out here? Why not go inside?"
Shi Xiu spotted Obito hurrying over with bags of all sizes and inwardly exclaimed, My savior!
He hurried to meet Obito and deftly took some of the things from his hands. "Obito, what did you buy? What's in all these bags?"
At Shi Xiu's question, Obito looked a little bashful. He scratched his head, smiled sheepishly, and replied,
"My teacher's wife asked me to buy some vegetables at the market. I just got back. And Rin's birthday is coming up in a month, so I thought I'd pick out a special present for her in advance."
As he spoke, a trace of anticipation and nervousness showed in his eyes.
Shi Xiu and Obito chatted as they walked toward the house.
Shi Xiu didn't even notice Nara Luling standing in the doorway, as if she didn't exist.
Haku, however, followed close behind him. When he passed Nara Luling, he suddenly stopped.
He raised his head and carefully looked Nara Luling up and down with his clear, limpid eyes.
Nara Luling looked at Haku too, her eyes full of curiosity and confusion.
Just as she was about to ask who Haku was, Shi Xiu's familiar voice suddenly called from inside.
"Haku, don't just stand out there. Come on in... And Nara Luling, you come in too."
Shi Xiu had hesitated, but in the end he decided to invite Nara Luling inside.
Hearing him, Nara Luling forgot about asking who Haku was and stepped into the house.
Haku hurried in after her. Obito, who hadn't been paying attention to what was happening behind him, finally sensed something was off and turned around.
The sight left him dumbfounded. Haku was wearing a dress!
Obito stared at Shi Xiu in utter shock, his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.
He looked as if he'd witnessed the strangest thing in the world. His mouth hung open, but for a long moment he couldn't say a word.
Shi Xiu noticed Obito's strange look and felt awkward. He managed to force a smile.
Then he quickly handed Haku the shopping bag full of clothes and said softly, "Haku, take these clothes to my room and change into them. We'll be eating soon."
As he spoke, Shi Xiu pointed toward his room.
Haku obediently nodded to show he understood. He took the shopping bag from Shi Xiu and headed toward the room he'd indicated.
Nara Luling watched Haku walk away, curiosity stirring in her heart.
Who is this little girl? Why did she suddenly appear here? She seems to be very close to Lord Shi Xiu. Could she be his long-lost biological daughter?
At the thought, Nara Luling quickly shook her head and chided herself. What am I even thinking? That's ridiculous!
Just then, Minato, Kushina, and Rin came out of the house.
They saw Shi Xiu and Obito holding all sorts of things, including vegetables and meat.
Minato hurried over and took the heavy bags of groceries from Shi Xiu and Obito.
At the same time, Rin went over to Obito with a smile, took a snow-white tissue from her pocket, and carefully offered it to him.
Looking at Rin's gentle smile, Obito felt warmth well up inside him. He happily took the tissue and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead.
Watching this, Nara Luling felt a stir in her heart. She wanted to go over and wipe the sweat from Shi Xiu's brow, just as Rin had done for Obito.
But before she could move, Shi Xiu seemed to see right through her thoughts. He turned to Nara Luling and said,
"Luling, sorry to trouble you, but could you go get Kakashi? Today, I'll show you all what I can do in the kitchen. I'm going to put on a real display!" Shi Xiu's face brimmed with confidence.
Nara Luling had no choice but to nod. "Of course, Lord Shi Xiu."
With that, she turned and leaped lightly, disappearing from the courtyard.
Minato and the others stared at Shi Xiu in bewilderment. Minato was the first to ask,
"Lord Shi Xiu, you can cook too? That's quite a surprise!" His voice was full of curiosity and astonishment.
Shi Xiu felt speechless at Minato's question and rolled his eyes.
But faced with everyone's expectant gazes, he didn't explain. Instead, he gave them a mysterious smile.
"Everyone, just wait and see. For now, let's prepare these ingredients, and then you'll see what I can do."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Xiu turned and strode toward his room.
Minato and Kushina exchanged a glance, then nodded in understanding. Together with Obito and Rin, they set about preparing the heaps of ingredients.
By then, Shi Xiu had returned inside. The moment he entered, his gaze was drawn to Haku, who had just changed clothes.
Haku was dressed in simple men's clothes. The outfit was plain, but it couldn't hide the gentle beauty about him.
Haku had just finished changing and noticed Shi Xiu enter. He turned to look at him in confusion and asked softly, "Did you need something, sir?" A hint of uncertainty showed in his clear eyes.
Smiling, Shi Xiu stepped closer and gently rested his warm, firm hand on Haku's silky hair.
He softly ruffled it, as if playing with a precious treasure. As his fingers moved, Haku's neat hair gradually became a mess, as though a gale had blown through it.
Shi Xiu didn't seem to mind at all. Still smiling, he enjoyed this intimate moment with Haku.
At last, when Shi Xiu was satisfied and stopped, Haku's hair had become a complete mess.
Haku looked up at Shi Xiu with some displeasure, though a trace of barely concealed delight glimmered in his eyes.
Shi Xiu noticed Haku's little pout. The corners of his mouth lifted into a bright smile, and he said softly,
"Haha, don't be mad! It's fine. To welcome you, I'm going to cook you a delicious feast myself! Doesn't that sound exciting?"
Haku froze, then hurriedly tried to smooth his messy hair with his hands.
He was still a little unhappy that Shi Xiu had messed up his hairstyle, but when he heard that Shi Xiu would cook for him, he was instantly touched.
Haku looked at Shi Xiu, gratitude shining in his eyes, and said softly, "Thank you for going to all this trouble, sir. But... won't it be too much trouble for you?"
Shi Xiu shook his head and looked at Haku. "It's no trouble. I'm hungry too."
Haku nodded, unable to help looking forward to the mysterious feast Shi Xiu had promised.
PS: About whether people brought back with Impure World Reincarnation can eat: Hongchen specially checked the anime and manga, and neither explicitly says they can't. If it doesn't say they can't, then they can, right? That's a perfectly reasonable interpretation, isn't it? Hehe.